Nassau County Plans $400 Million Bond Sale for New York Islanders Arena

By Prashant Gopal -
May 11, 2011

Long Island’s National Hockey League
team, the New York Islanders, may get a new arena financed by a
$400 million bond issue after the proposal is put to a vote on
Aug. 1, said Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano.

The sports complex will include a minor league baseball
stadium and will replace the 39-year-old Nassau Veterans
Memorial Coliseum, Mangano said today at a press conference at
the arena in Uniondale.

The project may face hurdles. The Nassau Interim Finance
Authority, which has run the county’s fiscal affairs since
January, said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned”
about Mangano’s proposal and the “fiscal implications for the
county.”

The authority took control of the finances of the county,
the state’s wealthiest by median household income, after it
determined that Nassau’s budget had a deficit of more than 1
percent of projected spending.

“Once NIFA fully understand the potential of this plan,
they will come to realize the tremendous economic benefits,”
Brian Nevin, the county executive’s senior policy adviser, said
in an e-mail. “Ultimately, Nassau residents will decide this
plan’s fate, and NIFA should respect their decision.”

Revenue Sharing

Mangano said the “intention” is for the $400 million
project not to “cost taxpayers a single penny” because the
county will enter a revenue-sharing agreement with the team, the
details of which haven’t been worked out.

“Part of our fiscal recovery is dependent on creating jobs
and opportunities for this generation and future generations,”
Mangano said when asked if the cash-strapped county could afford
such a development.

The authority’s approval is required for all county
borrowing. Nassau employs about 9,200 full-and part-time
workers. Mangano proposed in March a $181.9 million plan that
included spending cuts to close a $176 million deficit for 2011.

The Islanders had threatened to leave in three years if the
arena wasn’t replaced, he said. The project is expected to
begin in 2012 and be completed by 2015 when the team’s current
lease expires.

Mangano also announced today that the county is negotiating
with the Shinnecock Indian Nation to put a gaming casino at
Belmont Park.